


The Art Of Living Well

by fenfyre (Jace)



Series: The very Fabric of our Universe [4]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Teachers, Dating, Fluff, M/M, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Prank Wars
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-31
Updated: 2015-11-16
Packaged: 2018-04-18 09:32:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 18,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4701011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jace/pseuds/fenfyre
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jean's job at Trost High should've never been more than just that: an opportunity to teach at a rather prestigious school in exchange for a nice sum of money. What he got on top of that was one insanely attractive, flirty coworker, another one that seemed to insist on making his life a living hell and an offer Jean wasn't quite sure he'd want to refuse, even if he could.</p><p>Or, in other words:<br/>"We’re high school teachers and we keep pranking each other and you stole all of my staplers so my fourth hour is bombarding yours with paper airplanes now this is war" - an AU inspired by tumblr</p><p>Rating will go up in later chapters, additional tags will be added</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Starting from the prompt mentioned above the story will mostly focus on our three boys trying to settle into a polya relationship. Stay tuned for confusion, fluff and eventual smut (because let's face it: we're all thirsty, that's why we're here)!
> 
> Also posted on my tumblr: [fenfyre](http://fenfyre.tumblr.com/)

Jean Kirschtein had been teaching at Trost High for about half a year now and so far he liked the new job. The school itself was great, a little on the snobby side but he had never been the person to scorn shiny and functional equipment when it came to his classroom. His job was a lot easier when he didn’t have to fix microscopes between lessons.   
There were also a lot more experiments on the table when you actually had petri dishes and razor blades to cut up onions.   
Even though that in turn meant a few minor accidents that had to be tended to with the cartoon band aids in his desk. He'd never have guessed, but the Spongebob ones were rather popular.  
The classes Jean taught were mostly tolerable, some of the kids were little troublemakers but he liked them enough and it seemed like that feeling was at least somewhat mutual. Hell, he was hip. Of course the kids loved him!

Then there were his colleagues.   
Most of them were pleasant enough, some even a little too pleasant.   
Cue Marco Bodt, cutest and most kind history teacher to ever grace this planet with his presence. He was nice and funny and drop dead gorgeous … as well as stupid enough to take an actual liking to Jean. He’d come by at least once a day between classes.   
At first it had been to check on him, ask if he needed help with anything or had trouble with his students. 

By now, seven months later, Marco’s visits had become some regular thing. They chatted and joked around during their break, sometimes shared lunch or prepared for their next classes.   
There even was some lighthearted flirting by now, if Jean didn’t completely misinterpret the signals. Marco had always been a little touchy-feely, but the hair tousling and playful nudges and arm touching had gotten to a point that it could barely be considered platonic anymore. Not that Jean had the slightest problem with that. On the contrary!   
Of course, some inhibitions about hooking up with a co-worker were still left but even those got weaker every time Marco strolled into his classroom, all languid movements and charming smiles.

He looked so very handsome again today, wearing that dark purple shirt with the top button undone and the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, smile as dazzling as ever as he greeted Jean:   
“Hey, how was third period?” Jean watched his guest pull up a chair and slink down onto it with easy grace.

“Nice. Did the brain thing, the kids loved it. Told you Becca wouldn’t puke!” A soft snicker left Marco as he shook his head.  
“I’d have helped you mop it up…” He probably would have. Too nice for his own good and all.  
“Yeah, I know. You can help me with these sheets instead, if you wanna”, Jean suggested, gesturing toward the unruly stacks of copies spread across his desk.  
“You and your worksheets”, Marco sighed mockingly but already slid closer to start sorting through the papers while Jean searched through his drawers. “Three?”

“Four, there’s more over here … oh goddammit Jäger!” The curse left his lips before he remembered being at work but Marco merely raised an eyebrow at his language, patiently waiting for an explanation.   
“My staplers are gone”, Jean growled, sifting through his desk one more time before shoving the drawers closed. “All of them. I’m gonna kick his skinny ass!”

Eren Jäger, English and German, was probably the exact opposite of sweet, sweet Marco. Hotheaded and strongly opinionated, always down for some kind of fight and oddly fixated on Jean.   
Since their ugly clash on Jean’s very first day at Trost High they’d been picking at each other, snarky comments and stupid pranks all day. It was a hassle … but also a source of entertainment for almost the whole school.   
Though they at least tried being discreet, that didn’t work out all too often and their students soon caught up with the ongoing dispute between their teachers. Some of them took sides, eager to participate but never being allowed to, some of them were just there for the gossip about the latest prank.   
Most of the teachers preferred to remain neutral, though.

“Hmhmm … and what did you do?”, Marco practically purred, chin in his hand as he leaned forward. The look he wore was amused and a bit teasing. Jean could’ve appreciated that better if he hadn’t been so annoyed right now. He waved the question off, muttering a quick “Might’ve taken his sandwich but there wasn’t even ham on it…”.  
Marco laughed at that, casual and relaxed, and shook his head again.  
“Oh, so it was you! I told him not to judge too quickly but he was right after all, huh?”

Jean was throwing together his material halfheartedly now, barely listening to Marco as he thought about what would be the appropriate reaction to a crime like this.   
Jäger would most likely expect something. Maybe he could convince Marco to…

“Oh no, don’t you dare look at me like that, Mr. Kirschtein. I won’t be dragged into that prank war of yours!” Dammit, this man knew him too well by now. But what he’d just said … this was war, right? “I can go and fetch my stapler, if you’d like”, Marco offered, amusement still tinting his voice, but it was too late.   
The bell chimed, announcing the start of fourth period. Jean shook his head, his class would have to deal with loose papers for once.

“Nah, go back to class. Thanks for helping me sort this out, though.” Marco cast him that brilliant smile of his and shrugged, slowly rising from his chair and stretching.  
“Sure. Don’t do anything stupid, Jean”, he murmured, reaching out to card his fingers through unruly blond hair for a minute, scratching at Jean’s scalp soothingly, before he turned towards the door.

“Marco, he took my staplers. I’m gonna take everything he loves”, Jean rasped dramatically in his best Batman voice – which wasn’t that impressive, really – and heard that light, relaxed laugh once more before Marco was gone.

The kids started trickling into the room shortly after that and soon fell silent when they spotted Jean standing in front of the class, leaning against his desk with his arms crossed and a stormy expression.   
When everyone had found their place and was looking at him expectantly he announced:

“Jäger stole my staplers, everyone take four sheets.” He let the towering stack of papers flop onto the first table, then leaned against his desk again as he watched the kids pass around the worksheets.   
They were still surprisingly quiet until Luca, a tiny blond kid with light freckles all over his skin, chirped: “You want us to avenge you this time, Mr. K?”

Jean paused at that and let his eyes drift slowly to the kid, well aware of the whole class watching his dramatic pause. He never wanted this thing with Jäger to get this big, never wanted to include the students in any of this. But desperate times, desperate measures. Jäger took his staplers and the punishment would be swift and cruel.

The grin he let take over his face felt downright nasty as he nodded at Luca and finally whispered: “Yes.”  
He cut down the celebratory whooping that went through the whole room and turned it into annoyed groans when he added: “But first, sheets one to three. Four’s your homework!”

 

About half an hour later he let lose his little monsters in Eren’s classroom.   
They practically burst through the door, crying out viciously as they jumped onto tables and bombarded the other kids with paper airplanes – none of which made out of Jean’s precious worksheets, thank you very much. It was glorious. The other class retaliated immediately, crumpling up their notes to make missiles of their own, taking cover under their tables or jumping headfirst into battle.   
Jäger stood still in shocked silence for all of a few seconds before stomping out of his now chaotic classroom and into the hallway where Jean leaned against a wall, watching and snickering.

“What the everloving fuck, Kirschtein?!”, his voice echoed through the hall, along with the delighted shrieks of both their students.  
“Hey, watch your language. This is a school, man!”  
“I don’t fucking care! What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” 

In the class behind them there was chalk flying through the air now, as well as sponges and little booklets.   
A girl had wrestled a boy onto the ground, pinning his arm behind his head and Jean had the brief reflex to intervene before he noticed both of them laughing, then rolling around on the dusty floor. Huh.  
His eyes were ripped from the scene when he had to dodge Jäger’s hand that was trying to grip his collar and he took a quick step to the side, raising his hands slowly.  
“Hey, you took my staplers, this is war!”, there was still humor in his voice, even when he had to catch Eren’s fist as it was swung straight towards his face.

“You took my lunch, asshole! We were even!” Another attempted hit he had no trouble catching in the air, both of Eren’s balled fists now held tightly in his own hands. The angry burn in the other man’s eyes lit a fire in his own chest as they were staring at each other for a few seconds.  
“Well you nicked my car last week!”, he huffed, not as calm anymore as he remembered the ugly scratch at his bumper. Shoving Jäger backwards and letting go of his hands, only to have the smaller guy fling himself at him again.  
“Oh fuck you, I told you that wasn’t me!”

“Jäger! Kirschtein!” They burst apart at the deep voice booming through the corridor and swiveled around to see principal Shadis stride towards them with a deep frown on his face. This was the end.  
“Get your students under control and meet me at my office!”

 

“…and then he told us he’d throw us out on our sorry asses if he ever caught us doing these pathetic fucking pranks again. His exact words, I swear.” Eren was cutting up tomatoes and red peppers with easy movements while he recalled the events of the day. “You should have seen Kirschtein’s face, he looked like he shat himself, it was hilarious!”

Marco stepped behind him, humming thoughtfully as he snatched a slice of pepper and popped it into his mouth.  
“I’m sure you were not scared at all…”  
“I wasn’t!”, Eren protested, turning his head to look at the other man who just smiled at him with one raised eyebrow. “Not that much … not … obviously or anything…”

Humming again Marco pressed a quick kiss to Eren’s cheek before turning away to tend to the stove.  
“So there goes your plan, right?” Eren stopped chopping for a moment, making a tiny, irritated noise, before continuing with more vigor.  
“Uh, no? I’ll just have to be more careful around Shadis is all.” A soft laugh left Marco’s lips at that, stirring the boiling spaghetti he shot a glance over his shoulder. His boyfriend was still chopping away.

“You’re gonna risk your job just because your way of flirting is stupid and ineffective?”   
“Hey, at least it’s inventive and not boring like yours!”, Eren quipped, swiveling around to stare at Marco who kept stirring easily, then put the wooden spoon aside.  
“It’s working, honey, that’s what it is. Jean’s smitten by me…”, he purred, clasping both hands in front of his chest and fluttering his lashes invitingly, grinning at his lover. There was a short pause in which Eren obviously tried to not jump him, before he shook his head.

“Oh yeah? Well I’m pretty sure he wants to hatefuck me by now.”   
Marco hummed again as he took a step forward, carefully slipping his fingers between Eren’s to take the sharp kitchen knife he was still holding and place it behind him on the counter.  
“Yes. Hate is the keyword here, though.” Marco’s voice was low by now as he bent down to kiss his lover softly. Before they could get carried away Eren pulled back slightly to whisper against his lips.  
“No, fuck is the keyword…” Marco chuckled, leaning forward again to press their lips together for a second, then he pulled back and placed his forehead against Eren’s.

“Soon, honey. We’re almost there…”  
“Yes…” The answering whisper was low and hot as Eren sneaked his arms around Marco’s waist to pull him even closer. “He’ll be ours, right? We’ll take care of him…”  
“Good care”, Marco agreed quietly before kissing his boyfriend again. They got distracted by another until the pot on the stove started boiling over and Marco had to rush off to save their dinner.


	2. Attraction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren makes a mistake, Marco sets out to fix it and Jean doesn't know what to think of all this. Well, at first he doesn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also posted on my tumblr: [fenfyre](http://fenfyre.tumblr.com/)

Eren Jäger was not a patient person. Marco knew that very well.  
He had known when they struggled through high school together, when they started dating in college and when they got hired by Trost High after graduation. He'd also known when they started their joint courtship of one Jean Kirschtein.  
It had been nine months since they'd both decided they wanted their new colleague to join them. Nine long months filled with hot promises whispered against each others lips, impatient moaning that Eren couldn't wait any longer and calm reassurance from Marco.  
He should have known it wouldn't go on like this.  
  
And still he was taken aback when Eren let out a deep sigh one evening as they lay cuddled up on their couch and exclaimed: “I asked him out today.” That was definitely not part of their plan. Not that they had a detailed plan, per se...  
But Marco had learned to expect the unexpected when living with Eren. It shouldn't be too bad. Nothing they couldn't fix after months of preparation.  
“What'd he say?”, he asked, voice low, raising one hand to gently play with Eren's hair who burrowed deeper into their embrace.

“That he'd hit me up if he ever felt like getting fed laxatives with his dinner.”  
Marco couldn't help but huff a breathy laugh at that, the slight twitch in his shoulders making Eren groan and relocate his head to Marco's chest.  
  
“Sorry, that just … it sounds so like him.” He pressed a kiss into his lover's messy hair, not stopping the soothing motion of his fingers.  
Eren let out a long groan that pitched into a whine at the end, arms tightening around Marco.

“I knoooow, he's so stupid … Marco, I want him so baaaaad.” This time he could hold back the laugh Eren's petulant whining would have almost pulled from him. Instead he hummed.

“Yeah, I know. Me too.” He pressed another kiss to Eren's head before asking: “You want me to talk to him tomorrow?” The answering nod was quick against his chest and accompanied with a low grumble.  
They didn't need long after that to find a way to distract one another from the severe lack of cute biology teacher in their apartment.  
  
  
Marco had already decided on the direct approach when he strolled into Jean's classroom during break the next day. They first chatted about respective troublemakers and how to best deal with them but as soon as there was a slight lull in the conversation, Marco switched topics.  
“So, I heard Eren asked you out yesterday?” He kept the question as neutral as possible while observing Jean's reaction. It seemed barely more than a quiet huff, eyes flicking away as Jean put down the pen he'd been playing with this whole time. But at the same time his whole posture locked up, previous relaxation gone.

“Yeah?” He didn't look at Marco as he slowly rolled the pen over the table's smooth surface. “What about it? Not like he was serious...” Ohh, was that irritation in his voice? At this moment Marco was glad they had taken as much time to get to know the other man. Otherwise he wouldn't be able to interpret all the little nuances in Jean's body language. Like the way one of his brows was raised slightly in cocky defense. Or how he couldn't stop twiddling with the pen.  
“How do you know that?” Marco smiled softly, encouragingly as Jean looked up again to meet his eyes. Those tense shoulders relaxed somewhat at that.  
“It's Jäger, okay? He's never … he's only ever been an asshole. He doesn't even like me.” It sounded bitter all of a sudden. Had they really both missed this?  
“Maybe that's his way to get your attention?”

“Yeah. Right.” Eyes drifting away again Jean gave the pen a flick that sent it clattering halfway across the desk. He started drumming his fingers softly against the wood.  
This was it then. Now or never.  
“What if I told you that he was serious?” Their eyes met again, Marco's honest and open. Soft smile playing at his lips. Jean's brow was still arched up, he huffed again. But before he could ask any questions, Marco continued.  
“He didn't ask for himself, you know? Well, not just for himself. He actually wanted to invite you over to our apartment. But I guess he didn't get that far.”

The other brow was slowly drawn up at that, Jean's eyes getting bigger, blinking once, twice. Marco had expected that kind of reaction.  
“Your apartment … as in...”  
“We're living together, yes. He's my boyfriend.”

Jean opened his mouth, took a breath, didn't say a word, closed his mouth again. Waiting patiently Marco watched his expression darken as those brows furrowed deeply and that confused gaze turned into a glare.  
“You flirted with me.” It came out hurt, like an accusation. Marco could only nod slowly, concentrating on keeping his face honest and open. On not letting this hurt him, too.  
“Yes, I did.”  
“But you're living with Jäger.” Jean practically spat the words, the steady drum of his fingers stopping as he curled his hands into fists. There was so much betrayal in his eyes. Okay. This did hurt. Marco couldn't let it show, though.  
“Yes.”  
  
“I really thought you liked me, you know? I really...” The words died out as Jean cast his gaze down again, clasping his balled hands together in his lap. Marco wanted to reach out to him, reassure him that yes, yes he liked him. God, he liked Jean so damn much and this was so hard, almost too hard … but it wasn't his place to do any of that. So he kept still.  
“I really do like you, Jean.”  
“Not like...”  
“Exactly like that.”

When Jean lifted his eyes after some time of silence there was no anger in them. Only hurt and confusion. But it didn't seem like he would be talking any time soon. So Marco started again.  
  
“I promise it makes more sense when you have the whole story. If you want to – and I mean that, only if you feel comfortable – you can come over for dinner tonight. Eren and I would like to explain this to you. We never wanted to hurt you, we just wanted to make you an offer...” His words seemed to confuse Jean even more, he was slowly declining into his chair.

Marco felt that it was time for him to go, let Jean think about this in peace before next period started. He got up slowly, as if to not spook the other man. Halfway to the door he turned around again.  
“I'll text you the address, we'd be glad to have you. But as I said, if you don't want to, it's okay. You don't even have to tell us. Do what feels best, okay?”  
Marco really hoped this would be enough, but for now it was all he could do. He left Jean's classroom with a last, warm smile and an odd twist in his stomach.

  
  
They didn't really count on Jean being on time. But when it had almost been an hour since their appointment, Eren started to get fidgety.  
“Are you _sure_ you gave him the right address?”, he asked for the third time, arms crossed as he leaned against the kitchen counter.  
“Yes.” Marco's answer was calm even though he felt just as nervous as Eren did. He just tried to not let it show as much.  
“And what about the – ”

“I also gave him the right time. We checked together, remember?” He scooted forward to wrap the smaller man in his arms and brush a kiss against his forehead. “Relax, babe. It's his decision.” But oh, how he wished for Jean to give them a chance.  
“Ugh I know, I just...” Eren groaned, slumping forward into Marco's broad chest and leaning heavily against him. “I just … feel like we fucked up. We should've told him...”  
  
“Hm, like getting invited into the relationship of two strangers would've been better than getting to know him first...” At least that was what Marco had told himself over the course of the day. It didn't keep him from doubting their strategy, though.  
He was just about to resign himself to the fact that Jean wouldn't come when the bell rang. Both of them jumped at the sudden noise before exchanging hopeful glances. Marco tried to not sprint to the door while Eren busied himself with retrieving the casserole from the oven.  
  
Jean looked … guarded. Not outright hostile but wary and careful, more composed than this morning and somewhat distant. He was dressed way more nicely than he ever was in school, dark green button down and well-fitting jeans.

Their greeting was curt and formal, even though Marco tried to be as welcoming as he could, Jean didn't reciprocate any of it. But he was here. That was what counted, after all.  
Eren's joyful expression fell a little when he sensed the mood their guest was in, tension seeping into his posture.  
  
Dinner was awkward. They did some generic smalltalk while they ate, mostly about work, their colleagues, their boss, the kids … Whenever Marco tried to change the topic to anything they were actually here to talk about, Jean would switch it back as soon as he could. He wasn't even subtle about it. Come dessert Marco had given up trying and settled for the light, meaningless conversation Jean seemed to prefer at the moment. Maybe he just needed more time to prepare. Eren didn't say a single word.

When they finally set down their spoons silence fell over the small dining area. Marco could practically feel the tension that was radiating from Eren and tried to calm his boyfriend with soothing glances at the same time that he tried encouraging Jean with warm smiles. After what felt like a tiny eternity, Jean took a breath and cleared his throat. He didn't sound angry when he spoke. Tired, carefully neutral, but not angry.

“So, what's this about? Some … one-time threesome?” Oh. So that's how it came across. Marco saw Eren's eyes widen a fraction, practically begging him to please take this for now and he tried. But what should he even say to that?

“It doesn't have to be one-time, if you don't want it to.” That had been the wrong thing to say, if Jean's huff was any indication. And now there was a hint of anger in his voice, even though he tried to stay calm.  
“So you're looking for some guy to fuck together. I mean, yeah that's hot and all … but I really don't know if...”  
“He meant … sorry”, Eren immediately apologized for interrupting him but pressed on anyway. “He meant it doesn't have to be anything you don't want it to be. You just wanna eat dinner sometimes? Fine. You want more? Great. It's just...” Marco saw him struggle with the words, shoulders still tense, fingers dancing skittishly over the cutlery. When their eyes met he gave him a calm smile and a slow nod and Eren took a breath. “It's just that we're both really interested in you. As … as a person. And a … potential … partner?”  
  
It sounded weird worded like that but there seemed to be no better way. The phrase potential partner was closest to what they both wished for Jean to be, even though it sounded detached and clinical and couldn't even begin to contain what they wanted to be there between them someday.

It seemed to work, though. Jean's expression softened, tension seeping from his posture as well as Eren's as he caught up on the change in the atmosphere. There was a long, drawn out sigh from their guest as he closed his eyes for a moment, seemingly sorting though his thoughts before looking up again.  
“So, all this time you've been trying to … hit on me, couple style?” A smirk was to his voice now, even though it didn't reach his lips yet and Marco huffed a relieved laugh. This was starting to look a little brighter.

“Uh, I guess you could say that?”, he chuckled, shoving his empty plate forward to lean his elbow on the table and rest his chin in his palm. “We didn't just … want to spring that on you. Not without getting to know you first.”

Jean hummed, nodding slowly. “Yeah, that'd have been weird...” There was a short silence again but this time it was light, a soft, electric buzz instead of the icy stillness from before. Marco sought Eren's eyes for a moment, the both of them exchanging a soft glance, Eren biting his lip excitedly, Marco winking quickly, before they turned to Jean again.  
“Okay … okay. I need to know something before … well, I guess I'm … and I can't believe I'm saying this … I think I'm ...” Marco had never, not in the nine months they knew each other, heard Jean ramble like that. It was a whole new shade of endearing. “I'm not saying no? There's a lot you'll have to explain to me...”  
“We will”, Eren hummed quietly, motioning for Jean to go on when he got stuck on that for a moment.

“But first I…” He turned to Marco, raising his finger, eyelashes fluttering like he tried to remember something. “You. You were flirting. I caught that. Maybe not … quickly or anything, but I caught that. And it was nice. And I liked it.”

“Thank you”, Marco smiled, cheek still cradled in his palm as he watched Jean trying to string his thoughts together. He had an idea where this was going and looked over at Eren the same moment Jean leaned towards him.  
“But you...!” Jean shoved his finger forward, almost stabbing Eren in the nose who jerked back at that. “What the fuck was up with you? With that whole prank-war rivalry shit? I mean … most days I don't know if I want to kill you or fuck you!” Eren's wide eyes fli t ted over to Marco for just a second and he could see the smug _told you_ in that brief glance before they both looked back at Jean. “You've been such a stupid asshole sometimes!”  
Marco couldn't help his “Hey!” at that, even though he knew very well that Jean was mostly right.  
  
“And then you're asking me out and I honestly think you're joking and now you're all … nice and … say you're interested in me as … as a person and … I'm confused, okay? I'm...” Jean trailed off after that, shaking his head before just slumping back into his chair .  
Eren could do nothing but smile sheepishly for a while, drawing little patterns on the table with his fingers. Then he grinned. “It got your attention, didn't it?” God, he was so cute when one of his dumb plans worked out in the end...

Jean just took a deep breath and cocked his head to the side, directing a disbelieving stare at Marco, complete with open mouth and blinking eyes, that seemed to scream _can you believe this guy?_ But Marco had lived long enough with Eren to be somewhat used to this so he just smiled apologetically. “ Well, it worked ?”  
  
They both winced slightly when Jean pushed his chair back to stand. For a few seconds there was something akin to panic rising in Marco's chest, a thousand thoughts how they had scared him off flooding his head, before their guest announced:  
“I need to pee. We'll talk about this … whatever this is, when I'm back.” He was halfway around the table before he paused. “Okay, where's your bathroom?”

  
When Jean re-entered the living room, his hosts had cleaned up the dinner table and moved over to the sitting area. Marco was leaning back into the couch while Eren stood to the side, a bottle of wine shoved gracelessly between his thighs as he tried to uncork it. After a few failed attempts it plopped open and he could barely keep it from slipping away and spilling all over the carpet but he caught it in time and set the bottle down on the small coffee table with a grin.

It was an oddly domestic scene and Jean could feel the anxiety from before start to flare up again. He was intruding. He might have been invited but that didn't mean he should accept the invitation like that. They were so relaxed around another, so trusting and calm, had such a deep connection, they were _happy_ , perfectly happy without him and there was just no reason to...

The pounding thoughts screeched to a halt when Marco looked up and caught his gaze. There was such open adoration in these eyes, all of it directed at _him_ , that Jean managed to find his resolve again. He should at least find out what they had in mind. That was what he'd told himself all the while in the bathroom after all, giving himself an embarrassing little pep talk in the mirror. It would be even more embarrassing to just give up now.  
“You want wine or beer or something else?” Marco's voice drifted through the still air, all melodic and warm, and Jean remembered how to move, taking a few steps into the room.  
“Uh, beer?” He had declined earlier at dinner but maybe now some alcohol would soothe his nerves. Marco got up easily and headed for the kitchen, shooting him a smile when passing and then leaving him with Eren.  
  
The smaller man busied himself at a cabinet, putting away the corkscrew before rising onto his tiptoes to reach for a wine glass on one of the upper shelves. It looked kind of cute.  
“So uh … didn't know you were a wine guy?”  
“Well, yeah...” When Eren turned around he was smiling easily, twirling the glass at it's stem. “You try practically growing up on vineyards and not developing a taste for it...” He set the glass down on the coffee table as well and moved to fill it with clear gold liquid from the bottle. “I prefer the white ones, though. Red wine is so heavy … always gives me killer headache after a few glasses...”

“Huh...” Jean didn't know much about wine.  
He also didn't know much about talking to Eren aside from angry snarls and thinly veiled insults. Of course he'd noticed that certain tension between them, that insistent pull. He wouldn't be here otherwise. But actually having this calm a conversation felt weird, almost surreal, and he didn't know what to say. Luckily Eren did.

“Okay, listen … before we sit down and talk this through...” Eren shifted his weight to one foot and crossed his arms, then looked over at Jean and uncrossed them again, taking a deep breath. “I want to apologize. For some of the shit I said and did. I just wanted to tease you, you know, make you notice me. But then you got back at me and then it was all about revenge and stuff and things escalated...” He paused again, shuffling in a way that made him seem about ten years younger, eyes flicking over to meet Jean's again before he muttered:  
“I'm sorry. I actually really like you and I hope we can work this out.” Never in his wildest dreams would Jean have imagined hearing those words from Eren Jäger. But here they were and he didn't even want to laugh. No, he was kind of … relieved.  
These huge green eyes were begging him for some kind of reaction and because he still didn't really know what to say he simply repaid the favor in kind.  
“It's … it's okay. I'm sorry, too.”

“He also thinks you're hot when you're angry.” Jean jumped at the low voice so close to his ear and swiveled around the same second he heard the stuttered cry of “M-marco!” from Eren.  
The other man was leaning close to Jean, teasing grin on his lips as he shoved a cool, damp bottle into his hands. “It's true. He wouldn't shut up about it sometimes...”, he snickered, clinking his own beer against Jean's before strolling over to the couch. Jean could only blink and follow him. Sinking into the soft cushions he didn't miss the dumbfounded glare Eren shot the other man before retreating into the nearest armchair with his wineglass, pulling his feet up and underneath himself.

Marco sat down at the opposite end of the couch and leaned against the armrest, leaving more than enough space between them for now.

That certain kind of electricity crackled alive again, as they remembered why they were even here in the first place. Before it had the slightest chance to grow into uncomfortable tension though, Marco spoke up.  
“You said you had questions? Ask what you want.” The smile that came with those words was so kind and warm that Jean didn't even fret over where to start. He just started.  
“Okay, the basics? What would this be, what would we do? How does it work?”

“Basically...”, Marco started, then paused for a second. “What we'd like this to become someday is a normal relationship. Only that it wouldn't involve two but three people.” That was what Jean had gathered from Eren's stuttering at dinner. But it was good to hear it as clearly now. That they didn't want him as some kind of sex toy. That they wouldn't throw him away after a few nights. It was … reassuring. He'd been right in coming here.

“But, obviously, we're not there yet”, Marco continued, gesturing with his beer bottle and casting little glances over at Eren who was simply watching them. “So we'll start like any other couple would.”  
Jean took a sip of soothingly cold beer before speaking.  
“For example?”

“Dates”, Marco laughed. “We'd like to take you on dates. Real ones, not just impromptu dinners for damage limitation.” His dark eyes sparkled with joy and a little embarrassment and Jean felt himself drawn to him even more. “Of course we'd like to all go out together sometime but most of these dates would be with just one of us for now. You should get to know us individually and then decide if you want to keep dating both of us.”

That made sense. Jean could see himself doing that. Easily. But there was still a lot to address.  
“Okay so... say I'm on a date with one of you and it goes really well and we're both in the mood … how far do we go? I mean no disrespect...” He looked between Eren and Marco but they just smiled back at him, nodding. “I've just never dated a taken person before, so...”

“Don't worry, it's a good thing you're asking.” Now it was Eren's turn to speak, he was fiddling with the stem of his glass again but not nervously. Quite the opposite, in fact. The way he was lounging in his armchair, all curled up and relaxed, made him seem so at home.   
Well, of course he was. But Jean's presence didn't change anything about that, didn't keep him from getting comfy and letting go. And witnessing Eren ease up around him was … nice. Made him feel special, somehow. Like he was welcome here, like he belonged. He didn't yet, of course. But it made him want to. He was so swept up in that sudden surge of clarity that he almost missed the next words from Eren.   
“Kissing and making out is okay but for now, no sex. Just if it's all three of us. We don't do that unless we're going steady with someone.”

Jean nodded slowly, scratching at the label plastered to his bottle. So his first time being intimate with the both of them would be a threesome. Awesome. Or not. On the one hand, he really meant it when he said that sounded hot. God, they were some of the sexiest dudes he ever met, of course that thought was hot! But he also never did this kind of thing before and just jumping right in, without experience with either of them while they knew each other so damn well... There was no shame in admitting that sounded kind of scary.  
At least some – if not all – of that thought process must have shown on his face. He felt a light touch to his knee and looked up right into the warm pools of Marco's eyes. The other man was leaning closer now, a sympathetic smile on his lips.  
“Don't be too nervous, we know how to take care of you.” There was a twist to that velvety voice, something dirty and dangerous lurking deep underneath the kind surface of the words and Jean felt himself swallow again. It wasn't the first time he asked himself exactly what kind of animal Marco Bodt would be in bed. But now he wasn't sure if he could handle the answer anymore.  
  
“Sounds like you got experience with that...?”, his voice rasped the question before he could even give himself permission to. He watched Marco lean back into the armrest again, all fluid motion and elegant ease, before his eyes were drawn to Eren as the other man spoke up.

“Yeah, we've been living polya since … since we started dating I guess?” His eyes flitted over to Marco who gave an affirmative nod.  
“You've been what now?” Jean had his voice under control again after clearing his throat a few times. This was still a conversation about the basics. He really shouldn't get sidetracked by the dirtier details. Even though he might also have a few questions about that … now was not the time.

“Ah, yes. Sorry”, Eren said. “Polyamorous. Basically wanting and being okay with having more than one partner at a time? For example … there was this one guy we both dated in college while also dating each other. That's what we'd want with you...” The smile that followed was so sweet and open, Jean couldn't remember Eren ever looking at him like that before. He could get used to this.

“But there were also people only one of us dated”, Marco interjected, taking a quick sip of his beer before continuing. “Eren dated someone for a long time. We were friends, I didn't like them that way but Eren did, they liked him back and it was fine.”

“But...”, Jean started, trying to word this in a way that wouldn't offend them. He had to get used to this concept. “Isn't that unfair to you? When he has someone on the side and you don't?”  
Marco laughed at that, a relaxed, humorous laugh that luckily didn't even make Jean wonder if he said something wrong.

“Well, no. First of all, he didn't have 'someone on the side'. He had two partners, that other person was as important to him as I was. And then … of course it wasn't unfair. I wasn't interested in them anyway and I knew that he loved me. Had I wanted someone else as much as I wanted him I could've gone for them as well. But I had everything I needed with him.”  
The gaze Marco directed at Eren after thatwas sickeningly sweet, so very loving and devoted it made something unfurl in Jean's stomach. It wasn't jealousy. He didn't know for sure what it was, but it was good. Being allowed to see that. Until he looked over at Eren and saw the splinter of old hurt underneath all that love directed back at Marco.  
  
Jean wondered then if loving two people also meant hurting twice as much. Marco said Eren had dated that other person for a long time but obviously they were gone now. What was it like to lose a lover and wake up next to someone just as dear to you come morning? Did it make you wonder when you'd lose them, too?   
Was it harder to get over someone when you still had a partner left but they weren't the same, they couldn't be and shouldn't but...

“With you, however...” When Marco's voice drifted through the room again it was lighter, more careful. “We won't do that. You see, that wouldn't be fair. If only one of us got you while we both wanted you. So if you decide, for whatever reason, that you'd only like to date one of us, we'll have to decline.” The smile that slipped onto his lips at that was polite and a little guarded. “I'm not saying that to pressure you. Just wanting to let you know from the start.”

Jean nodded slowly.  
“Yeah. That makes sense.” The last thing he wanted was to somehow destroy what they had. He might have more than a little crush on Marco by now and still wanted to know what that thing between him and Eren was but … it wasn't worth deliberately fucking up a relationship that deep and steady. He'd barely spent an evening with them and could feel it, how special what they had was. What he'd give to have something like this, to be part of it...

“Any more questions?”, Marco asked, smile soft and easy again as he regarded Jean.  
“Just one more for tonight.” He had a lot to think about now, some things about relationships to unlearn and even more to look up somewhere. Marco and Eren really didn't have to do all the work for him. But there was one thing he wanted to do tonight. To showjust how interested he was and set the tone for whatever was still to follow.

“Can I kiss you? Both of you?”

The look both of them were giving Jean at that was priceless. Simultaneously switching from bafflement to glee and excitement before reigning themselves in and putting on a more casual exterior. There was still joy sparking in both deep brown and glowing green and it made the small smile on Jean's lips crack into a full grin.  
If he'd ever witnessed something adorable, this was it. They shared a short glance, Marco all relaxed confidence, Eren vibrating with energy, exchanging smiles the meaning of which Jean could only guess before they focused on him again.

“Yes, of course. We'd love that.” There was a sweetness to Marco's voice, a soft lull that hid something else, something darker like before, something expectant and curious. It lured Jean closer until he was sitting right in front of the other man, taking the empty bottle from his hands and setting it as well as his own down onto the coffee table without breaking eye contact. The edges of his vision seemed to fuzz out under that intense gaze, focusing instead on the handsome face that was so close now, closer than it had ever been during their careful flirting.  
He was acutely aware of Eren watching them and took a second to look over to the armchair. Eren was curled up still, chin now resting in one of his palms as he absentmindedly bit into his pinky finger, lips pulled into a crooked grin, eyes huge and hopeful as he was watching them. Jean was itching to sink his teeth into those plump lips but all in good time.

First Marco. Marco who still hadn't moved except for leaning slightly forward, who was still breathing softly and evenly as he regarded Jean with a gaze that held so many nuances he didn't even know where to start deciphering them all. Jean decided to not even try.  
One hand sneaking up to the backrest for balance he leaned forward, closer and closer until he could count every freckle, every single one of of those thick dark lashes. Then he let his eyes slid shut and closed the rest of the distance blindly.

He didn't catch Marco's lips perfectly the first time, had to adjust a little upward so they fit better together. Then they both needed a moment to find their rhythm, to figure out just how to slide against each other, when to nip and to pause so it felt just right.  
It wasn't embarrassing. No, it seemed natural to not simply fall into it, to take a moment getting used to each other, to the feel of each others lips on their own. It was just perfect the way it was, hesitant at first but so light and sweet, growing more playful as time passed and they figured out how to handle this.  
When Marco flicked his tongue out to tease it against Jean's lips he retaliated with a careful flutter of his own. Marco's kiss was cool and he tasted of beer and pasta and cream. Raising his free hand to slide it along Marco's cheek Jean let himself sink into it with a soft sigh. The other man let out a long, slow breath through his nose, tilting his head a little more to the side so they could deepen the kiss even more. Open lips sliding against each other, a little slick with spit now, movements getting easier. Jean flicked his tongue out to nudge it against smooth teeth and soft lips the second he felt one of Marco's hands come up to his neck and pull him closer.  
  
He could still feel Eren's eyes on them with a burning intensity but it just urged him on. He captivated Marco's lower lip with his teeth, carefully biting down and pulling back slowly to let it slide away again. Marco responded by chasing after him, smile tugging at his lips as he pressed them to Jean's mouth again. This was perfect. It felt easy and natural, it felt like … home.  
Jean slowed down at that thought, slid the hand that had been caressing Marco's cheek down his jaw and throat to come to rest somewhere at his shoulder. Marco took the silent hint and pressed a few more, lingering kisses to his lips before pulling back, hand slipping from his neck.  
When Jean opened his eyes again it was to a radiant smile and a prettily flushed face. Marco's lips were pink and shining with spit as he licked them. He was beautiful like this.

Before Jean could even start catching his breath he felt a hand at his shoulder, pushing him into the backrest insistently.  
A second later Eren was sliding into his lap, knees on either side of Jean's thighs and towering above him with an expression that was hungry and a little intimidating. He leaned down but passed Jean's lips for now, diving deeper to mouth at his neck instead. Jean gasped, hands flying upwards to grab Eren's shirt and pull him closer, press their bodies together. Eren was quite small but wiry and strong, muscles shifting in his back as he wiggled to find the perfect fit in Jean's lap while still sucking at his sensitive neck. After just a few seconds of this Jean decided to tip his head against the backrest and let the other man continue. It felt too good to stop him.  
When he felt careful fingers card through his hair he rolled his head to the side to look at Marco who was still close and watching them with a soft smile. He wanted to say something, maybe thank him or ask for another kiss, but Eren decided to come up again right that second.  
  
Kissing Eren was a whole other thing than kissing Marco. It wasn't soft or experimental, no slow figuring things out. Instead it was heated and passionate and maybe a little bit aggressive.  
Eren wasted no time in grabbing Jean's face with both hands and shoving his tongue between Jean's lips first chance he got. It might have been a little overwhelming if Eren hadn't been so damn good at it.  
He switched between deep kisses and insistent little bites, always soothing his quick tongue over bitten lips afterward. Also he couldn't keep still for a second. Eren kissed with his whole body, sliding his hands into Jean's hair and down his throat and chest, moving his strong body against Jean's and grinding into his lap.  
All the while being incredibly vocal, sighing and moaning softly against Jean's lips. Jean could only try to hold on tightly and at least somewhat reciprocate that pace he was setting.

It ended as quickly as it had begun, with Eren sliding out of his lap and flopping down on the couch at his other side. The only thing remaining was the pang of sweet wine on his tongue, an excited flush down his neck and a very confused, half-hard dick down his pants.

Jean needed a moment to catch his breath after that, head still leaned back and staring up at the ceiling. They had a nice ceiling. Wood-panneled.  
After some moments of silence he felt Marco's hands in his hair again, smoothing it down. Eren snuggled up against him at his other side, one arm sneaking around his waist as he leaned his head against Jean's shoulder.

“What do you say? Still interested?” He didn't have to see Marco's face to know that he was grinning. After some more seconds of sorting his thoughts Jean nodded.  
“Fuck yeah.”


	3. Proximity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren feels nervous until he doesn't, Jean somehow finds some right words and Marco is nothing if not supportive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also posted on my tumblr: [fenfyre](http://fenfyre.tumblr.com/)

Jean had done his homework, since that night. There were a lot of useful websites about the polyamorous lifestyle and Marco had pointed him to some more he hadn't found by himself.   
There were blogs answering all kinds of related questions, an interesting series of articles written by a young journalist delving into this kind of relationship for the first time and even some sort of dictionary covering the topic as well as other terms related to sex, love and everything in between. He felt a little like a teenager timidly looking up the term threesome. But even though he already knew about a lot of things those websites covered, there were just as many he'd never heard of before.

The more Jean read, the more he could imagine himself in this kind of setup with Eren and Marco. Having them, both of them, while they still had each other... Everyone won. If they could make this work.   
Because even though all those articles and blog posts emphasized how fulfilling a polyamorous relationship could be, they also repeatedly talked about the harder parts, all the finer nuances they would have to figure out, what to do so no one felt left out and how much communication would be required.   
That had to be what Jean had read most about during his research. Communication. They would have to be in touch about their feelings all of the time to make sure no one got hurt. And though that sounded a bit excessive to him right now, he was more than willing to give it a try.

Finding the place to start was easier than expected. The rough plan to begin with casual dates at first helped him but even beyond that, he started to get some ideas what to do.   
One article he'd read focused on what the author called 'the weakest bond', the one relationship in a triad setup that needed more work and communication than the other two. In their case, that would be him and Eren. There was a strange attraction between them, had been since almost the very first day. But it had been buried between anger and annoyance and a lot of other, unresolved issues. For nine months they had done hardly anything else than piss each other off. And even though they were off to a good start, had both apologized and admitted they had never wanted to let it go this far, there was still a lot to do. So Jean wanted to start with that. 

But nothing out of the ordinary happened for about a week. Jean went to work as usual and continued with his lessons as planned. Marco still dropped by at least once a day to spend his break with him, sort through material or essays and simply chat. Maybe there was some more touching than there had been before, a few quick shoulder massages and short, teasing kisses. Innocent flirting, compared to the hot make-out session that had happened over at Eren and Marco's apartment. 

They had kept at that late into the evening, showering each other with deep kisses and lingering touches, switching partners whenever they felt one of them had been neglected. He'd watched his two hosts kiss for a long time, admired the way they came together with so much grace and ease, how they simply fell into each other in comfortable intimacy. It had been beautiful.   
Never before had Jean thought he might like the image of the person he was interested in kissing another man. But it hadn't been just another man. It had been Eren, bright, annoying, surprisingly considerate Eren. What they had was so warm and pure, Jean had felt blessed to even be allowed to see it. And besides, they looked so hot together he could hardly manage...

A knock yanked him out of the daydream, the memory. Jean turned to to the door, expecting Marco to stand there like he always did, tall and handsome with that dazzling smile, but instead there leaned a much shorter figure in the door frame. Also handsome and smiling, though.  
“I'm not interrupting, am I?” Eren strolled into the room like he'd been there a thousand times already instead of only once or twice, hopping onto Jean's desk right in front of him with careless grace.  
“No...”, Jean mumbled, taken aback by Eren's sudden appearance. He slid a bit backwards with his chair to make more room for Eren's swinging legs.  
“Good. Uhm … I was wondering...” His hands came down to grab the edge of the table as he leaned closer to Jean, then he bit his lip and smiled. With his legs still swinging and that suddenly almost bashful expression he looked rather endearing. Jean couldn't resist reaching for his knee to squeeze it encouragingly. He'd always known this man would have much more facets than angry asshole and mischievous child. Discovering them all would be an adventure.

“I was wondering if you're free tonight? For a … a date? Maybe?” Before he could even think about it Jean was on his feet and had pulled Eren closer for a kiss. It was soft, this time. Not heated and passionate like the last time they'd kissed. Just a brush of lips, a breathy exhale, then they parted again, Jean's hands still lingering on Eren's shoulders.   
This was so different from the first time Eren had asked him out. Sure, he'd been nervous then, too. But Jean hadn't seen it as nervousness and suspected another prank. This time he knew better.  
“Yes, of course.” It felt so strange, being as gentle with Eren when they never had been before. But the other man was so cute, so obviously anxious, Jean didn't want to be anything but gentle. And besides, what they had done before didn't really matter anymore.  
“Okay, uh … dinner at our place and then I'll take you somewhere? “ Eren smiled up at him, so soft and sweet, Jean had to kiss him again. This time a moment longer. When they parted he pulled back only inches, mumbling against Eren's lips:

“So dinner with Marco and then just the two of us?” Eren nodded, slightly flushed from their kisses or the closeness or simply embarrassment. He didn't pull back, though.  
“Yes, if that's … okay with you?” Another, last kiss before Jean stepped back, hands gliding down Eren's shoulders and to his arms.  
“Sounds perfect.” Eren beamed and jumped up from the table, throwing his arms around Jean in a quick but affectionate hug. He could feel a rapid heartbeat hammering against his chest in those few seconds before Eren let go of him again, almost skipping towards the door.  
“Hey wait, where are we even going?” Eren just giggled – he giggled! – and shook his head.  
“Secret!” That little shit.  
“Okay should … should I bring something?”  
“Nah, just be there at six!” And with that he was gone.  
Jean shook his head and sank back into his chair. Well, that had been unexpected. After a short pause he plucked his phone from his pocket.

To: Marco Bodt, 02:26pm  
eren just asked me for a date tonight...

Only moments later he heard the buzz from Marco's answer.

From: Marco Bodt, 02:27pm  
Thank god! I needed all week to get him there :D But he's cute when he's all nervous, right? <3

To: Marco Bodt, 02:27pm  
adorable. but why was he even nervous, he knew i'd say yes!

From: Marco Bodt, 02:28pm  
Yeah, but you didn't last time he asked … you scarred him for life ;) 

Well, one more thing they could talk about tonight. It really wouldn't do if Eren was too scared to ask him out without a week of preparation. But hey, communication. They could fix this. After all his research Jean felt unusually optimistic, prepared even. He wanted to make this work and tonight they'd take their first steps, together.   
Anticipation buzzing in his veins he set to conquer today's last two classes.

 

Dinner was perfect. Marco was warm and welcoming and charming as always, while Eren was funny and way more relaxed than earlier, even though obviously excited by now. Jean wasn't used to seeing him like this – happy, the word had to be happy – but during the course of their meal he decided he'd like to be, one day.   
They ate pizza Marco had made himself, his granddad's recipe, and sat there for a while after they finished, just talking. When Eren got kind of fidgety, twirling the knife around his fingers like one would a pen and licking his lips a lot, Jean decided it might be time to go. His curiosity where the evening would take them had only grown as well and he was looking forward to spending time with Eren. Not that he didn't enjoy Marco's company as well, on the contrary! Eren was just a whole other topic, weakest bond and all, they had work to do.   
But how did he tell Marco they'd ditch him now? There had been nothing on this in all of the posts and articles he'd read...

Thankfully Marco was one of the most perceptive people he'd ever met and soon began piling their dishes together, gently breaking up the mood and giving them an out. They both picked up on that subtle hint at about the same time, Eren pushing his chair back to stand and stretch, Jean finishing his glass of water before handing it to Marco to be added to the pile.  
“I know what you said, Marco...”, Jean started before his host could leave for the kitchen and Marco turned to him, plates and cutlery and glasses expertly stacked in his arms, gaze soft and … almost loving as he waited for Jean to continue.   
“But are you really sure about this? I'm kinda stealing your boyfriend here!” It was more a joke than anything else. He'd gotten the whole polyamory thing by now, at least that's what he thought. He just needed one last okay, one reassurance that this was what everyone wanted and they could be off in peace. Communication.

“Well, if you're looking at it that way, he is really stealing you”, Marco laughed, the dishes in his arms clinking together but not slipping a bit. “And of course it's okay, I thought we've been over this. Now go get your jackets, you idiots! I'll meet you at the door.” With that he was off to the kitchen, the distant rattle of the dishwasher getting fed soon filtering over to them.  
When Jean looked up at Eren he was met by an almost sheepish grin  
“What's wrong, Kirschtein? Nervous?” His voice was may more smooth and teasing than it had any right to be, especially not after their conversation this afternoon. And now he had the gall to ask if Jean was nervous. Jean. The only answer he gave was a huff and a “Sure” dripping with sarcasm before he got up and headed for the hallway. 

Well, maybe he was nervous. He'd never spent anymore time with Eren than absolutely necessary, except for that dinner a week ago and their brief talk today. There was a chance, not a very high one but still, that they'd hate each other. That their resolve to get along wouldn't be more than that and their old squabbles would come to life again. That the only thing keeping them civil and holding them together was Marco.   
And that would ruin everything. This whole, complicated relationship that hadn't even started yet. It would ruin Marco. Because Marco really liked Jean and Jean really liked Marco but they would never work if the thing with Jean and Eren didn't work first so if they ended up hating each other...

“Hey, you alright?” Eren's voice reached him through his racing thoughts, so soft and careful that everything slowed down for a moment.   
Yes, they'd had their differences. He knew firsthand that Eren could be vengeful, hotheaded and stupid. But he'd also seen him be considerate and sensitive and just plain adorable. There was so much worth loving in that man that he knew he could uncover. So much more than that weird pull of attraction and interest neither of them could really name right now.  
“Yeah, just … got lost in thought for a moment”, Jean finally answered and finished shrugging on his leather jacket, which he started sometime before he drifted off.  
“Oh wow, you got that whole sentient thought thing going on? Maybe I should reconsider my plans for the evening then...” The comment held no bite, was more of a good-natured tease than a real insult, delivered with a grin and a wink.

Jean was just about to retort in kind when Marco joined them in the hall, pulling his surprised boyfriend against his chest and wrapping him up in his strong arms.  
“Don't be a shit now, baby...”, he murmured, burying his nose in dark hair before turning the shorter one around to give him a real kiss, long and sweet. He whispered something against Eren's lips when they parted, so low that Jean almost didn't catch it.  
“You're really taking him to the...?” Eren silenced him with another quick press of lips.  
“Yeah, 's gonna be awesome.” Marco chuckled, brushing the tip of his nose along Eren's hairline. For a second Jean wondered whether he should turn away from an intimate moment like this. But then he remembered he'd seen them kiss in a very different way before, planned to get comfortable with them in the very near future. If they really didn't want him to see this they wouldn't do it in front of him.

“You're such a sap, honey...”  
“Hey, you liked it when...” This time it was Marco's turn to silence the other with a kiss. He leaned his forehead against Eren's when they parted.  
“I did. And he'll like it, too. Go get him.”  
“You know I'm right here, don't you?” The way they seemed to be lost in each other's eyes the question was only partly a rhetorical one. Marco laughed, low and easy, and let go of Eren to turn to Jean.  
“Of course.” He took a few steps forward to hug him as well, before he hesitated. “You're wearing that?” Jean furrowed his brows, looking down himself, at his jacket and button down and jeans.  
“Is this not … I still don't know where we're going. If I'm...”

“No!”, Marco rushed to interrupt him, shaking his head. “No, you look great! Just...” He turned to the coat rack and took something from one of the hooks. “Here, take my scarf. It's getting pretty cold at night, you might need it.”   
The scarf was dark green and of soft wool that smelled so intensely of Marco that Jean started to feel a little dizzy when the other man looped it around his neck a few times. When he was finished Marco regarded him once more, nodding before he went in for the embrace. It was a nice hug, warm and sturdy and Marco gave him too a soft kiss before they parted.  
“I hope you have a great evening, take as much time as you need.” The smile he gave both of them was so charming and honest that whatever doubt had still remained was just wiped away at the sight of it. This would be good.

They barely made it to Eren's dark blue Mini Cooper before Jean's patience wore out.  
“Okay honestly, where are we going?” The harsh lantern light illuminated only one side of Eren's face as he looked up from his fumbling with the key and grinned.  
“Not telling you. Still secret.” The way his tone was teasing and carefree at once, a tiny bit proud as well, was almost enough to make Jean shut up about it. Almost, but not quite. He was still a nosy asshole who'd spent the whole afternoon and evening wondering. That whispered conversation with Marco in the hallway had just made it worse.

“I'm not getting in this car unless you tell me.” The second he said those words he regretted them. What he could see of Eren's face, a moment ago excited and vibrating with anticipation, just fell like that. Smile fading and eyebrows furrowing almost impalpably. The locks whirred open but Eren didn't reach for the handle. Instead he folded his arms on the roof of the car and leaned against it, looking right at Jean with that expression that was way more guarded now.  
“Look, I can tell you, if you want. It's kinda hard to explain if you haven't been there, probably gonna sound real stupid and lame. But I can try, if you need me to. It'd just be … nice, if you could trust me enough to make this a surprise.”

Jean just blinked. This wasn't the plan. He'd wanted to make Eren tell him to satisfy his own curiosity, not because he didn't trust the other man to not take him somewhere dangerous or whatever.   
Well, good work on that, Kirschtein. They'd been joking together a minute ago, now Eren wasn't even looking at him anymore, concentrated on rubbing a stain from the roof instead. Did he maybe hit some nerve? There was just so damn much he didn't know. Better correct that right now.  
“Eren, I'm sorry. Would you … would you look at me, please?” He waited for the other man to react, lifting his gaze almost carefully. “I'm an asshole. I wanted you to tell me cause I wanted to know. No other reason. Surprise me, okay? I trust you.”  
They didn't move for another moment or two, then Eren nodded slowly, smile returning to his lips.

“Get in, loser”, he grinned and was already ducking onto the driver's seat. He seemed okay for now but Jean still put this on his mental checklist of things they could talk about later before he opened his door to slide into the car as well.  
“Did you just quote...?”  
“I have no idea”, Eren interrupted loudly while starting the engine, sheepish grin in place once again. “What you are talking about!”   
Jean let it slide. He wouldn't have, normally. But he just fucked up and wasn't too keen on repeating his mistake. Whatever kind of minefield Eren was or wasn't, he'd figure him out. Maybe not quickly or completely but bit by bit, each and every time a little more.

Eren pulled out of the parking spot and onto the almost empty street while feeding a CD into the player at the same time. Seconds later sharp, short guitar notes blasted through the speakers and Eren hurried to turn the volume down to about half of what it had been before. When Jean looked over at him, one eyebrow raised sceptically, he just grinned and shrugged, eyes glued to the street.   
“I like rocking out, okay?”   
Before Jean could snort and retort something fitting the first verse tumbled into the song with a kind of rough-edged rap. He needed the better part of the verse to identify the foreign language as German and even though he didn't get a single word, the choppy, almost staccato rhythm was kind of catchy, paired with the simple but still sharp guitar riff and steady, fast drums in the background. Come chorus the singer fell into more of a chant, additional vocals backing him up and even Eren muttering the lyrics under his breath:

“Wir sind nicht kredibil, wir machen Popmusik...”  
“Okay, what is that?” Jean tried to sound not too curious, even though the fingers drumming rhythmically against his thigh probably betrayed him. Turning the volume even lower Eren laughed.  
“Kraftklub, they're kind of a big thing in Germany right now? If you're into that … indie-rock, punk, rap mix? This is some of their older stuff, though. Been listening to them since before they were cool...” Eren's voice drifted into nasal at the last sentence as he flicked his wrist dismissively. When Jean couldn't hide his snort at that he grinned and casually flicked one end of his scarf over his shoulder. “Honey, I've seen them opening for the Beatsteaks and Rammstein before anyone knew who they were...”  
Eren breathed a laugh and grabbed the steering wheel with both hands again, ending his flawless hipster impersonation.

“Seriously though, their old stuff is good. Rough and stupid. The new album is more political, not much though...”  
Jean just hummed at that and leaned back in his seat, watching Eren skip the second song and tap his fingers against the steering wheel.  
“How come you know that much about German popculture? Does that come with the degree?”  
Eren chuckled and shook his head, taking a left turn. They had reached the edges of the city now but Eren didn't seem to plan on stopping soon. Well, surprise.  
“My mum lives there. As did I til I was … 15.”  
“Oh...” Jean could feel his eyebrows pull up in surprise. “I didn't know that. Always thought you were, uh...” Eren just shrugged.

“My dad's Turkish.”   
Well, that did explain his darker than average complexion then. “But that's actually what made me become friends with Marco in the first place. He was the only other European immigrant kid in high school. We took some shit...” There was a shadow passing over Eren's features before his smile came back, softer now. “But it pushed us closer together, you know?” 

Jean nodded. He didn't know much about living through high school as an immigrant kid. High school had already been hell as an American kid. But he could imagine the kind of bonds that forged. He'd seen them, after all.  
Looking out of the window he saw trees passing them now. Trees and … were those fields?  
“Kind of getting creepy here”, he murmured, then hurried to add: “Still a surprise, still trusting you! Just … got no idea what your plan is...”  
Eren grinned at that, pressing down on the gas now that they were out of the city.  
“Just you wait and see...” 

Eren pulled the car to a stop in the middle of nowhere, about twenty minutes after they'd left the last of the city's lights behind them. They were in some strip of forest, darkness all around except for the curve of road that was still illuminated by the headlights. Then Eren turned those off as well.  
It was very quiet all of a sudden, quiet enough for Jean to notice his unusually quick heartbeat. He peered over at Eren, only making out a profile in the dark that might have worn the barest hint of a grin.  
“Still trusting me?” Even that voice was more quiet now and very soft all of a sudden. This could have been straight out of a splatter movie but Jean wouldn't feel this natural and calm if he'd have the tiniest reason to doubt Eren's intentions. His gut told him to move on, so he nodded. When he realized Eren probably couldn't see the small movement in the dark, he set for a murmur, careful in the silence:  
“Yeah...”  
Eren reached for something on the backseat that looked like a bag in what little light there was and nodded at Jean.

“Come on then...” Opening the door he climbed out of the car and Jean scrambled to do the same. Yes, he trusted Eren. Obviously more than he'd trust most of his friends which, on it's own, was a whole new kind of alarming. But getting left here wouldn't do. At all.  
His heartbeat was still pumping in his ears as he joined Eren behind the car where the other man clicked on a flashlight he pulled out of the bag before slinging it over his shoulder. That way they at least had some light as they entered the forest on a narrow path Jean would never have found on his own. For a while it was silent but for dry leaves crumbling beneath their feet.  
“Okay”, Jean started as the pulse hammering away in his eardrums became too deafening. “Can you tell me where we're headed already?” Eren just gave a chuckle and reached for Jean's hand with the one not holding the flashlight steady, interlacing their fingers.

“Just another minute, yeah?” The touch soothed his excited heartbeat somewhat and sent it into a light flutter instead, Jean hummed and squeezed the warm fingers tighter.  
It took them more than a minute but they reached the other side of the forest where it opened up into the surrounding fields. Eren led him sideways along the edge of the woods and up a small hill where he clicked the flashlight off shortly before they reached the top. Out here it wasn't as dark as it had been underneath the still thick canopy of leaves, the moon standing bright and almost full above them in the star-speckled cloudless sky.

They clambered up the rest of the way, stumbled a few times but always pulled each other to their feet again before they could really fall, chuckling and giggling until they reached the top and Eren pulled him to a halt. It looked like … a playground.   
There was a slide and a swing set to the side, something like monkey bars in the back as well as a merry go round. Everything was eerily still, no movement or creaking from the wind. Oddly peaceful, against the backdrop of the fields and starry night sky.  
“Surprise?”, the whisper was amused but also somewhat uncertain, like Eren wasn't sure what to make of his total lack of a reaction. Jean shook his head, a smile to his lips as he squeezed Eren's hand, so warm in his own against the chilly air. Marco had been right in giving him the scarf.

“I haven't been to a playground in ages”, Jean chuckled, looking over at Eren. As his eyes got more and more used to the darkness he could make out the smaller man's features, his relieved smile.  
“And that right there's your mistake.”   
Eren began to walk again, tugging Jean along with him until they reached the swing set and he found himself pushed into one of the seats. The ropes creaked under his weight but easily supported him. Eren plopped down onto the second swing and made the whole frame shake as he wrestled the bag from his shoulder to put the flashlight back inside and pull two cans out.

“Beer?” He threw one of them over at Jean without even waiting for a reply and cracked his own open, raising it for Jean to clink his own against it.  
“What, no wine today?”, Jean half teased, half asked as he opened his beer and touched the can against Eren's outstretched one, upholding their firm eye contact.  
“Too much trouble”, Eren shook his head as he took a sip from the can. “With the bottle and glass and stuff … I like wine better but beer's okay.” In the dark Jean couldn't make out the label and just blindly took a gulp, almost sputtering it up again the next moment. When he finished coughing he looked over at Eren, barely making out a grin.  
“What the...”

“German beer. Can't take your American piss, tastes like water.” Yeah, he was right. Whatever this was, it had a richer taste than what Jean was used to, a fresh, bitter note as well. But it also seemed stronger. A little warning would have been nice.  
“Just wanted to see your reaction.” Was there amusement to his voice? “I can give you something else and finish yours later.” For a moment Jean was honestly tempted but he couldn't just back out like that so he shook his head.  
“No, I'll take it...” That maybe-grin again.  
“Alright.”

They were silent for a while, drinking and taking in the view. The strip of forest was stretching out to their left, dark and gloomy, but there were also the fields and the endless sky above them. It sure made for an interesting atmosphere. Calm and peaceful, almost romantic.   
Back at the apartment it had sounded like Eren had come here at least once with Marco and it didn't come as a surprise that Marco sounded like he'd enjoyed it. They had just arrived and Jean already was a little charmed. If he was being honest he hadn't taken Eren for a guy who'd plan something … serene like this.  
“So you've been here with Marco before?” Jean broke the silence after some while. If there was a story to that he really wanted to hear it. And just because this was a date between Eren and Jean it shouldn't be forbidden to ask about their cute history teacher, right? Their...

“Yep...” Eren made the P pop and took another swig from his beer before he continued. “Found the place and took him here a couple times. We even had sex here once...” The comment sounded almost wispy, so light and secretive and Jean perked up. He didn't even want to try and fight the images that sentence painted into his head. Images of Eren, small, strong Eren, riding sweet, sweet Marco on that very patch of grass in front of them, gasping and writhing in their own solitude, bodies drenched in sweat and moonlight...  
“Sounds … pretty hot.” Eren hummed and looked over at him with a crooked smile and heat in his eyes.  
“It was.”

Eren started swinging then and Jean watched him for a while before joining in, if only to not linger on his mental pictures anymore. First he had to figure out how to hold his beer steady while gaining momentum but after a few struggling tries that earned him snickers from Eren he managed.  
“I haven't done this since I was nine or something”, Jean remarked, only partly as an offhand explanation. The other part was a good dash of nostalgia.  
“That's way too long! I think I never even stopped...”  
“What?” Their laughing along with the creak of the swing sets must have been the only sounds for miles.

“Yeah, well...” They slowed down a bit to make talking easier but kept up as much motion as they could. “I think I told you how I grew up around vineyards? Back in Germany?” Jean didn't know if Eren could see him or even tried looking at him but nodded anyway.   
“So we Germans love our alcohol parties, yes? You know the Oktoberfest, that's for beer. There's also lots of others, to celebrate the harvest and stuff. Where I'm from we had these kinds of parties all through summer and way into fall. There were lots of small villages around and each one had to hold their own wine party, so for two or three months you could go to a different village fair each weekend.”   
Eren paused to laugh, a low sound lost in thought, before he took a swig of beer and continued. 

“My parents loved them. Dragged us all over, me and my sister. And every time there'd be other teenagers, stealing bottles of wine and sneaking away with them and we'd join them on some playground. Cause there was always a playground nearby. My sister wouldn't let me drink too much so our parents didn't notice. But we'd just hang out with the other kids, drink on the swings until our parents found us to take us back home. And when we came over here the habit kinda … stuck.”  
Jean could picture teenage Eren clear as day: smaller than he was now, with less muscles and softer features, feeling rebellious as he drank fancy wine straight from the bottle. He huffed a laugh.

“Sounds very … you.”  
“Hey, I was such a cool kid!” Even though the words sounded amused and lighthearted, there was something else hovering just beneath them, something wispy, melancholic. An unspoken addition to the sliver of happy childhood memory.   
Jean was pretty sure that Eren was alright now, happy even. He had his life together, had Marco and maybe sometime these days he'd have Jean as well.   
But that didn't mean he couldn't still be haunted by darker thoughts and old pains. That short mention earlier in the car, how coming to America had held more nightmares than dreams for him, had only felt like the very tip of the iceberg. He didn't seem to keen to talk about it right now, though, and maybe it was too heavy for a first date, anyway. So Jean set to distract him.

“I bet you I can jump farther than you without spilling my beer!” Eren snorted a laugh and took another long drag before he set to gain more momentum.  
“Yeah, sure. Bring it, city boy!”   
The melancholic shadow was gone and Jean set to his new task with a crooked smile. He had his problems to swing quite as high as his date could. This had been so much easier as a kid, when he'd been shorter and lighter and without a can of beer in his hand to worry about. But Eren was laughing as he slid from his seat, soaring over the night sky for a second before he landed on the grass with unexpected agility and grace, Jean just a beat behind him.

He didn't jump quite as far as Eren but also didn't spill a single drop of his drink, as opposed to Eren who cursed and switched the can to his other hands to shake off the drops. When he noticed Jean behind him he raised his damp fist triumphantly.  
“Won!”  
“Ohhh no!”, Jean protested and reached for Eren to pull him close at the waist. “I said without spilling!” Eren wiggled in his arms, huffing a giggle as he managed to ram his elbow underneath the can Jean was still clutching, making beer slosh out and drip over his fingers.  
“Won, again!”

“You little shit...” Jean stared at the smaller man for a moment, incredulous, before he dropped the now almost empty can to wrap both arms around Eren from behind and dig his fingers into soft sides.   
Eren shrieked loudly, wiggling and kicking but not getting free, just giggling until Jean stopped his tickle attack and set his chin down on Eren's shoulder.   
Eren huffed a last, shuddering laugh before he sank into Jean, leaning his head back. Both their breaths were quick as they looked out over the fields, eyes completely accustomed to the dark now, enjoying the nuances of blue in the sky. Having Eren lean into him like this made something in Jean's chest give an excited flutter and he took a deep, steadying breath.

Eren's scent was spicy, interesting, the most dominant right now, somewhere between it lingering the warm, comforting scent of Marco. Maybe floating up from the soft scarf wrapped around his neck, maybe clinging permanently to Eren's clothes as well.   
Then there was the clean, fresh note of the outdoors tinting everything, pines and oak from the forest, grass and earth rising up from the fields, weathered wood and the sharp tinge of metal from the equipment around them.

“About this afternoon...”, Jean started after a good while, still holding Eren tightly from behind. “You seemed pretty nervous.” Eren made a tiny, pained noise and raised his head, made no other move to part from him, though.  
“Was it that obvious?”   
Jean hummed and couldn't keep from burying his nose into dark hair smelling of cinnamon and … saffron?  
“Pretty much, yeah...” He felt Eren slump noticeably but firmly held him upright. Jean wouldn't be able to support his full weight for very long – Eren may be small but there was lots of muscle to him – but this was fine for now.  
“'m sorry I just … I don't know, I just was?”  
“Because I said no last week?” Somewhere off to their left in the forest a bird called and fluttered. Then it was silent again but for their steady breaths.

“You talked to Marco, didn't you?” A feeling akin to dread began to settle in Jean's stomach, heavy and uncomfortable. He felt like he'd done something very wrong all of a sudden and wanted to slink away from Eren, to apologize, but then realized he should talk first:  
“Was that not alright?” Eren sighed, it was a very soft sound.  
“No … I don't like that 'He said, she said' shit. I want to tell you stuff myself. But … but I don't always do and Marco knows that so he … we're working on it.” Jean nodded, slowly, and breathed a kiss into Eren's hair.  
“So I better not tell him about tonight?” To be honest, he'd been kinda looking forward to that, to telling someone about his date who'd be just as excited for him. Who was as smitten by Eren's calmer side and this place as Jean was up to now. But he could respect Eren's needs.

“No! No...” This time the smaller man wiggled free from his hold but only to turn around in his grip and bring his arms up to wind them around Jean's neck. Those big eyes looked breathtakingly in the moonlight.  
“Tell him whatever you want. We're not starting anything by having secrets! No, everything I tell you, everything that happens, Marco can know about. If there's anything I'd rather tell him myself I'll let you know. You do the same, yeah?”   
Jean could manage that. Easily.

He dipped down to claim Eren's lips, making him fell exactly how okay he was with that solution. After a moment of surprised stillness Eren returned the kiss, sliding closer and moving softly against Jean's body.   
Even through all the layers he could feel Eren's heat, how strong and sturdy he was. It would have been nice to just keep going like this, to kiss the other man til sunrise.  
But they still had much to talk about … so Jean pulled back after some more blissful moments.  
“I totally forgot how it's like to kiss someone without standing on my tiptoes...”, Eren chuckled, low and relaxed as he let his head fall forward against Jean's shoulder.

“So you were nervous because I told you off last week?” Eren groaned.  
“Yeah, I just … ugh. Wanted to ask you all week. But each time I thought about how you … looked at me when I … and how it was just so fucking embarrassing...”  
“God, Eren.” Tightening his grip on the smaller man Jean pressed a warm kiss to his temple. “I didn't want to embarrass you! I just didn't think you could be serious after everything … But hey, now I know how serious you are and I won't be like that again. So please don't be scared of me?” Huffing but not looking up Eren buried deeper into the embrace and mumbled:  
“'m not scared of you.”  
“You were a little scared today.” That didn't get another answer so he kissed Eren's hair again and held him close until he stirred and parted from Jean. Without a word he took one of Jean's hands and began tugging him across the playground.

Eren stopped by the bag to throw his empty can into it, then went on until they reached the rusty merry-go-round by the monkey bars.  
“Wanna go for a round?”   
Jean had never liked things that spun. He had a strong stomach, loved roller coasters and everything else that was fast and took him high. While getting whirled around in a circle for only ever made him dizzy and kinda sick.   
Looking at Eren though, smiling bright and excited, he decided he'd take the risk just this once and climbed on with a shrug. Holding onto the rickety metal bars he plopped down in the middle of the disk and threw Eren a look as serious as he could muster right now.

“But if you're going too fast I'm gonna puke and I'll make sure it lands on you.” The smile grew into a grin, joyful and a little mischievous, as Eren grabbed two of the rails and set to work up a good spin while Jean tipped his head back and prayed to not make good on his promise after all.   
When he was satisfied with the speed Eren jumped onto the disk as well and climbed over to where Jean was holding on tightly, watching the playground whirl around them.   
Maybe he was too old for this shit … but then there was Eren, bright-eyed and grinning and toppling close as they spun around and around in the dark.   
So close Jean couldn't not grab that warm body and pull it even closer. Ignoring the surprised squeak and following laugh he buried his face in Eren's chest. Only partly to block out the twirling world.

“Gonna puke on me?” Jean groaned and shook his head, eyes still closed tightly against Eren's chest.  
“Nooo...?” He held onto the shorter man, until they'd slowed down significantly and only looked up again when the carousel had slowed down to quite a leisure pace.   
“Hated these things as a child, hate them now...”, he chuckled, swallowing a few times to fight the rising sickness back. This was tolerable. Until Eren pulled back, a twinkle in his eyes.  
“Want me to give us another push?” They both laughed, Jean jabbing a finger into Eren's side.  
“Only if you want to start the war again!” 

It was silent for a moment as they looked at each other, memories of nine months worth of pranks and annoyance flaring up all at once. It wasn't as bad a feeling as it maybe should have been. Eren hummed.  
“That was kinda fun, though...”, he murmured. 

Jean thought back to the pranks he'd planned meticulously only for them to go wrong, to the ones born of luck and opportunity and to Eren's face when he was angry. Still so very pretty, even contorted with righteous fury, pretty enough to make Jean wonder just how hard the other man would punch him if he shoved him against the next wall to kiss him breathless then and there.   
He thought of the few times Eren had almost made him lose his mind with their antics, of the pupils cheering them on and laughing about the latest story.   
Thought of the purpose this childish little war had given him at his new job, how it had taken his mind off of all the petty things he had to deal with transferring to Trost High. How good it had felt to get acknowledged, even for something as stupid as dousing Eren with a bucket of pudding, no matter how swift and equally disgusting the revenge was.

“We don't have to stop...” Eren just looked at him for a moment before he sat up straighter.  
“What?”  
“We don't have to stop. The pranks were fun, the kids loved them. And maybe, if we set up some rules so we don't piss off Shadis or each other too much...”  
Sitting back on his heels Eren blinked at him, eyes still so very beautiful.  
“Jean Kirschtein, are you saying you...” He shifted again, took one of Jean's hands into his own to clutch it to his chest in a gesture of exaggerated affection. “...want to fight me?”  
“You fucking dork!”, Jean laughed and pushed Eren back, making him topple over and flying right after him when Eren wouldn't let go of his hand. He landed on top of Eren but caught himself with his free hand before his full weight came crashing into the other man. Reaching up to curl his hands into Jean's hair Eren pulled him down for a quick kiss.

“You're going down, baby.”  
Jean blinked and nuzzled close, grinning against Eren's lips.  
“Did you just 'Baby' me?” Where Eren had still subtly wiggled against him a second ago he fell completely still now, eyes huge and staring up at Jean in sudden realization.  
“No?” There was a darker tinge to his cheeks now.  
“Ohh, you so did...” Teasing him was just too much fun if he reacted like this.  
“No!”   
As Jean leaned down to kiss Eren again, smooth and insistent, he realized how strange it was for them to just fall into this kind of intimacy, this physical and loving way to express their affection. He usually needed some time to feel comfortable touching someone but with Eren it felt easy and natural. Considering their history he'd expected to need even longer with him, at least longer than a few hours, give and take.

When Eren bucked up into him on a low moan Jean pulled back with a soft gasp. Those huge eyes twinkled up at him with amusement as another sinfully smooth roll of hips made him shiver. These movements would be the death of him someday.   
Especially since he knew they wouldn't do anything about it for a while.   
Not that he usually jumped straight into bed with a first date. But Eren was something else, Jean had already heavily made out with him, watched him make out with his equally sexy boyfriend and he'd promised to not touch him, not without Marco.   
And god, Jean definitely wasn't ready for that to happen. He wanted it as desperately as he feared it and not even the surprising intimacy with Eren could give him anymore security in that matter. That was something he'd have to talk himself up to.   
But the mere knowledge that nothing could happen between him and Eren tonight made him all the more shiver at every touch.

“Hmm, so responsive...”, Eren hummed against his throat and ran both his hands down Jean's back to grab his ass, just like that. Jean made a noise somewhere between a groan and a yelp and rolled over to lie next to Eren instead. The twinkling formations above them were slowly spinning across the dark backdrop of blue.  
“Let's not do that.” Next to him Eren chuckled, low and dark, one hand dancing over Jean's thigh.  
“Why? Scared you can't hold back?”  
“Something...” Swallowing hard Jean blinked, fighting off the images flashing behind his eyes. Eren in his lap, wiggling against him. Eren leaning back into the armrest of the couch, Marco nibbling at his neck. Eren on his back in the grass off to the side, legs spread and screaming shamelessly as Marco railed into him...   
“Something like that.”  
Eren gave another low hum and squeezed his thigh before pulling his hand back.  
“Okay.”

The sky had been standing still and silent above them for a while when Eren spoke again. His tone was more sincere, teasing lightness gone as he turned his head to regard Jean lying next to him.  
“You think this is gonna work?”  
“Hmm?” Jean shivered when he turned to the side and his jacket and shirt slipped enough for a cold breeze to crawl up his back. Tugging both down again he burrowed deeper into the soft scarf and let his head fall against the cool metal before he shoved a hand under his cheek.  
“You know...”, Eren started and rolled onto his side as well. “You, Marco 'n me. Think you're … cut out for it?” God those eyes. Catching the moonlight in the most exquisite of ways.

“I don't know.” There was not much else than being honest. It was what Jean was best at, after all. And between the calming lull of Marco's scent wafting up to him and Eren's gaze, so bright and curious, he didn't even hesitate.   
“I've never done this kind of thing before. But this...” He placed a hand into the space between them and Eren didn't miss a beat before he covered it with his own, a delicate touch, almost careful. And so very warm, a contrast to the cool metal surface.   
“This, right now? It's fun, I like it. I think I might also like you. And god, do I like Marco.” Eren smiled at that, soft and goofy, he knew exactly what Jean was talking about, after all.   
“I can't promise you anything, I'm not as good at this as you two are. But I'm more than willing to try and make it work, okay?”

Eren hummed and nodded, still smiling. Until a shadow flickered over his face and he squeezed Jean's hand tighter. A few moments passed and Jean came close to asking what had happened but then the other man took a deep breath and his lips curled into a smile again. It wasn't as bright as before, though. Instead there was something almost bitter about it, something wary.  
“You know I … I already talked to Marco about this and he said it's bullshit, but...” When Eren paused to bite his lip, breaking their eye contact to look down at their touching hands, Jean turned his around and entwined their fingers. That got Eren to look up again, smile just a tad brighter as he continued:  
“I was kinda scared that … you'd only use me to get to him. You know, since we told you we can't do this if you only want one of us. I thought what if … pretending to like me was better than not having him at all?”

It was strange how the late hours of the night could pull the most delicate and well-kept secrets out of people. Jean didn't understand why and how it worked, but he knew very well Eren would never have told him about this had he taken Jean out to a movie instead. And even if he did, Jean's answer would have been something else entirely.  
“I thought about that.” He held Eren's hand even tighter when the other man tried to pull away with a noise that sounded just a bit broken.  
“Not that I should pretend to like you, idiot. But if Marco might be the only reason why I'm trying this.”   
The thought had come to him during one of his research afternoons after he'd read a few articles. Over the years he'd learned to distrust and question himself and his actions from time to time and mulled the possibility over for a good while. Originally he wanted to keep that to himself but with Eren's hand in his and the darkness wrapping them up in quiet he found that he might as well tell him.

“But it's not like that. You're not some kind of … necessary evil or unwanted accessory. I'm not getting this date over with to have one with Marco already. I'm not … okay, I know I can be an ass sometimes but that's just wrong. If I wasn't interested in you at all I'd have told you. I wouldn't have even showed up to dinner last week!”  
Eren squeezed his hand again, so very tightly, and shook his head with a deep chuckle.  
“He told me the exact same thing. Up to the you're an ass but not that kind of one...” Jean was halfway through a laugh when he stopped and blinked.  
“Marco said I'm an ass?”

“Ohhh yes”, Eren grinned, the shadow completely gone from his face now as he toyed with Jean's fingers. “He sees right through you...” Jean clicked his tongue and shook his head. How on earth could his sweet Marco say … his.   
Weird how natural that thought had come to him. He tried thinking the same about Eren and felt a very similar warmth blossom in his chest. Good.  
“So you're talking about me?” Of course they did. They had to plan all of their shenanigans somehow. Still, he liked the thought. Occupying their space even when he wasn't there to share it with them.

“Yeah, mostly about how we're gonna wreck you when we finally get you into our bed, though”, Eren remarked, all casual and relaxed as he sat up. Meanwhile Jean was spluttering out a “W-what?” as he scrambled to get vertical again.  
“Hmhmm, you're not just an ass, you also have a cute one. And we really wanna tap it. But come on, I'm starting to get cold just lying around here...” With that he was off. Jean needed another minute to cough and get rid of that traitorous blush. He'd probably have lots of fun with this memory later... 

When he looked up again Eren was already halfway across the monkey bars, his movements looking practiced as he swung his strong little body forwards. He landed at the other end shortly after, whirling around to wave Jean over.  
“You coming or what?”  
Jean tried. He had literally no upper body strength and almost none in his arms. He was a runner, did his five to seven miles three times a week and he had worked up quite the stamina when it came to running. But this … not his thing.   
Eren laughed at him, then tried to show him several times how to do better and at the end of it Jean could almost reach the middle before he fell off with a wheeze.

They also made use of the slide a few times, more tumbling than sliding down together and lay in the sandbox after, talking until Eren got cold again and suggested to get back to the car. Jean didn't want to leave. This was so good, peaceful and natural, but he was freezing as well and a look at his watch told him they'd been here for almost four hours, so he reluctantly agreed.  
Before they left he made Eren promise to take him back here sometime. Eren agreed with a bright smile and a very enthusiastic kiss. 

Jean walked Eren to the door when they arrived back at the housing complex because he was a gentleman and his mother hadn't raised him in a barn. Also his own car was parked up the street so it didn't make much of a difference. But most of all, he was a gentleman.  
Somewhere along the way Eren grabbed his hand again with the one not securing the bag slung over his shoulder and Jean let him.   
The easy familiarity hadn't let up during the car ride even though they'd spent most of it silent and merely listening to Eren's music. Jean didn't know whether it was the successful date, the relaxed atmosphere or Eren singing along but he'd taken a liking to the rough-edged sound. He'd have to look up that band later … if he remembered their name, that was. 

“Sooo...”, Eren started when they'd reached the door, a breathy lightness to his tone that made Jean's smile stretch a little wider. “That was … nice?” Chuckling Jean reached out to curl one arm around the other man's waist and pull him close to whisper an assuring “It was.” against warm lips.   
Then they were kissing, so very soft and careful this time, parting as quickly as they'd found together.   
“I guess I'll see you at school tomorrow?”, Eren whispered, fluttering his eyelashes enticingly and Jean snickered at the perfect picture of shy high school boy. Then he sighed. It was already way past one am and he had to get up at six in the morning. Worth it, though.

“Or...”, Eren muttered into the silence between them. “You come up with me. You know, give Marco a goodnight kiss...” The idea was a tempting one and Jean could see that happen so easily. See himself walk up those stairs and pull Marco in for a kiss when he'd come to meet Eren in the hallway. They could just make out for a while, like they had last week.   
But there was no mistaking the tone in which Eren had purred those words and an additional two or three hours weren't nearly enough for Jean to build up more confidence on that fort. It was flattering, to be wanted that much, but it had to wait. At least until his date with Marco, probably longer.  
“You think Marco's still awake?” The words could have been a Yes but the tone was a No. Gentle and playful but still a No and Eren dropped the sultry look at once in favor of a lazy smile that looked almost as good on him.

“Sure, he'll want to know every detail!” It could have been weird or creepy, a sign of jealousy and a controlling streak, but it wasn't. Instead it was Marco being interested and invested in how things were progressing between them. It was sweet and thoughtful and kind of cute, when Jean imagined him staying up this late just to hear about their date as soon as he could.  
“And you better text him before you go to sleep or he'll be disappointed as fuck. Well, he's not gonna show it, of course. But trust me, stuff like that's important to him. And if you hurt him I'll make you wish we never picked up on the pranks again.”   
There was something dark and dangerous flashing in Eren's eyes for a split-second, something sinister and determined enough to make Jean swallow hard. The next moment it was gone and Eren leaned up for a quick parting kiss, smiling at Jean as he whispered a soft “Goodnight, Jean” and let go of their embrace to vanish into the house.

As soon as Jean was sat in his car he fumbled for his cellphone to let Marco know what was up. He'd planned on doing that anyway, Eren's words just encouraging him further.

To: Marco Bodt, 01:37am  
holy shit that was amazing? That whole place? And eren … him too, fuck. Didn't know he could be so sweet and cute and ugh idk … we kissed. A lot. Hope thats ok? Well duh, you said it was im just still so … hmm. he told me some things, too. Why he was so nervous and that he doesn't wanna be some unwanted thing standing in our way. Told him to shut the fuck up and chill, hope hes alright with that? He seemed alright. Gonna tell you more tomorrow, ok? Just wanted to let you know that it was good and … yup, still interested.

Half an hour later Jean fell into bed with an exhausted but very happy grin, checking his phone one last time before drifting into sleep and finding two messages waiting in his inbox.

From: Marco Bodt, 01:53am  
God, that sounds so great! I'm so happy for you :) Yeah, I think he's alright, at least he hasn't stopped smiling and giggling since he got here … that's usually a good sign :D But I didn't tell you that. Looking forward to our chat tomorrow. Goodnight, Jean!  
Oh, and I'm really glad you're still interested ;)

From: Eren Jaeger, 01:57am  
Had fun tonight. Sleep well...

Jean would. He definitely would.


End file.
